Step by step: SMS Campaigns

SMS campaigns are among the simplest campaign options offered on SENDR. Creating such a campaign only requires three steps and a few minutes.

Step 1 - Creation

In this step, you will set up the name of the campaign, its nature, the recipient choice and finally the sender identity.

First, choose a campaign name. Try to choose a campaign name that you will easily recognize later for reporting purposes. You might decide to choose the motive, audience or date, such as ‘Summer Sale promotion 28/08/2017’.

Next, choose the nature of your campaign: marketing or alerting. If you’re not sure which category your campaign falls under, refer to the article SMS traffic types and legal framework (France). Remember that if you’re running a marketing campaign, you must include an unsubscription method.

Next, choose a sender for the campaign. This is the number or name that will be shown as the sender on your recipients’ phones. For an SMS campaign, the sender can be any DID your own as well as Alphanumeric Sender ID. Please check the dedicated article to learn more about alphanumeric sender IDs. Keep in mind that using an alphanumeric sender ID prevents your prospect from replying to the message.

Finally, choose an address book of phone numbers to send your campaign to. If you would like to exclude certain people - for example, those who have unsubscribed - you may do so by choosing the appropriate blacklist.

Step 2 - Message

For SMS campaigns, you need to input a text to be sent to your prospects. This text can include any variable present in the address book, just click on them.

If you decide to handle unsubscription (it’s a LEGAL requirement in most countries for marketing campaigns) you’ll need to set up two extra messages:

The first one will be added at the end of your campaign message, to offer your prospects the option to unsubscribe. Default is “Answer STOP to unsubscribe” but you can edit it.

The second one is the unsubscription confirmation message. It will be sent only to the prospects who replied STOP to confirm their unsubscription.

Campaign testing

Once the campaign message is set up, the “Test Campaign” button at the top right of the screen will be highlighted in blue. It will allow you to test your campaign on the number of your choice to ensure everything is as you would like it to be.

We strongly encourage you to test your campaigns before starting them.

Step 3 - Options

For SMS campaigns, two additional options are available: scheduling and SMS/email completion report.

Scheduling options

With the scheduling options, you can choose the days and a time window for you campaign execution. You can also set up a daily pause, to avoid calling people during their lunchtime for instance.

The default time zone is set to Paris. If you are using SENDR to reach another country, don’t forget to change the time zone accordingly.

Please keep in mind that marketing campaigns are subject to restrictions depending on the country the campaign takes place in (nature of the campaign is set up at step 1). In France, marketing messages will be sent only during weekdays between 9 AM and 7 PM.

Marketing traffic restrictions vary per country, we encourage you to check the legal framework of the country you wish to operate in to ensure full compliance with the law. Alerting traffic is not subject to restriction.

Reporting options

If you so choose, you can receive a completion report for the campaigns on up to 5 phone numbers or email addresses. Once the campaign is completed, you will receive a message on your specified phone numbers and email addresses which include:

Once you are done, click save. You will be taken back to the campaign’s dashboard where your newest campaign will be on top. Don’t forget to click the corresponding start button to launch the campaign once you double checked everything.